Yea 8 is probably about the sweet spot. Close 1-6 and then 7 and 8 for higher speed cruising.
Yea I would agree it*s a pretty good auto. Not the fastest or the smoothest out there. But it*s really well programmed imo and quick to downshift without making you mash the throttle. In other words it*s just usually in the right gear and I like the direct feeling. Almost like a dual clutch.
Edit: wouldn*t call it rough or slow either. Just isn*t ZF seamless.
Having just said goodbye to my X1 w/ZF-8 I honestly didn't think it was far superior or even smoother- quicker yes but all that's missing for me in the Mazda is paddles, maybe a 7th for highway cruise but I think I may actually prefer 6 to 8 honestly- 8 is more efficient but also more busy. Rear wheel drive is the main thing I miss about it...H/K stereo was alot better than Bose.
A couple extra gears would be nice - I found on my extended test drive of the Signature that I found myself in the "wrong" gear a few times b/c the gearing wasn't quite right for the situation. Whereas the 10 speed in the RDX I also drove had enough gears that it was easy to find the right spot (it also felt awesome ripping off a bundle of shifts on hard acceleration).
Test drove the RDX after the 5 and the RDX wasnt in the same zip code for us. After test drive we politely declined to even run numbers cause the answer was clearly no.
What was it for you? I had the RDX A-Spec for 3 hours and then the CX-5 for an overnight and I generally prefer the RDX - it's sportier, roomier, and more luxurious. I'm not sure it's worth the extra $10K in Canadian dollars so the wife and I are giving it some deep thought.
Having just said goodbye to my X1 w/ZF-8 I honestly didn't think it was far superior or even smoother- quicker yes but all that's missing for me in the Mazda is paddles, maybe a 7th for highway cruise but I think I may actually prefer 6 to 8 honestly- 8 is more efficient but also more busy. Rear wheel drive is the main thing I miss about it...H/K stereo was alot better than Bose.
2 things I want to point out:
1: 6.2 is impressive given the CX-5's programming is set to provide smooth power delivery. In other words not not even performance oriented "speed" model. You'd get sub 6 numbers easily after even after a light tune. Otherwise Stock, Mazda isn't trying to be the 0-60 king in its class but it just is without even really trying.
2: Tires Tires tires. This thing is faster to 60 than the Mazda6 which is lighter. Just proves how much grip makes a meaningful difference. In this case AWD helps make better use of 300lbs tq. An AWD Mazda6t with summer tires should be in the mid 5's.
I agree with the the 6A being less busy. Shifts take time and time cost acceleration. I wish the AWD system was predominately RWD with the front engaging only when needed. This would give the CX5 much better driver characteristics.
The X1 uses an Asin I thought. At least the current gen. Was it ZF previously?
Yeap, ZF doesn't make an 8 speed FWD auto and the current gent X1 uses the Aisin 8 speed.
Did C&D state whether the speed times were done with SPORT MODE on or off?
I notice in sport mode that the trans holds the gears longer and the shifts are faster than when in normal driving mode.
I also think with AWD versions, when in sport mode from a dead stop, the computer puts power both to the rear and of course front tires. This helps with preventing tire spin.